Automatic door operating mechanism



Feb. 20, 195] F. E. RIVERMAN AUTOMATIC DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM 2Sheezs-Sheet 1 Filed 001:. 20, 1947 FRANC/S E R/l E/PMAN Feb. 20, 1951F. E. RIVERMAN AUTOMATIC DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledOct. 20 1947 N k m n 2 mm mm hm Patented Feb. 20, 1951 AUTOMATIC lDO'OROPERATING 'MECHANISM Francis E. 'Riverm'amPortland, reg., assignorltoHarold L. :Cook and Lee -R. Schermerhorn, idoing business 215000]: andSchermerhorn, .Portland, Greg.

KIIDIic'ationOcteb'er' ZO, 1947, Seria1No.*7 80,99'1

=3 Claims. mil

This invention rela' es to improvements in power driven door operatingmechanisms.

'The general objector the invention is "430 1310- v'ide-an improvedpower operated mechanismtfor opening and closing doors wherein the doormovement in either direction is 'initiated by a :convenient push buttonswitch "and terminated by arrival of the door or doors in their proper:open or closed positions, as the case maybe.

it further object is to provide animproved door operating mechanism,particularly adapted "for use with overheadr'g'a'ra'ge 'doorsand thelike, and designed to reverse the -movement of the door automatically-ifit should encounter an obstruction-in its closing-"movement.

- nnother obje'ct is to provide an impro'ved con- "struction for thepurpose--i:iescribe'd which is .rela- "tivelysimpleandinexpensiveto'manufaoture,'and

sufficiently rugged and reliable togive long service in automatic door"operation without adjustments 'or repairs.

*Other objects =and advantages "reside in the "details of constructionand arrangement :or parts shown in the accompanying'drawingsillustra'ting a preferred emloodirnent of the invention.

In the drawings: I

QFigure iiis atop "plan-view o f the preferred embodiment door operatingmechanism;

Figure 2 is-a side elevation :view

. 'Figure 3 isa side elevational view of "the preserit mechanism appliedto an overhead garage door;

' Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the "li'n'e 4- 4 of Figure"1;

Fi'gure"5-is' a-schema'tic diagram of the operatlngme'chanism "and itsassociated control circuits,showing themechanism at an intermediatepoint-in its door opening" movement; and

Figure 6 is a view similar to FigureS, showing the partsat restinopen'door position.

"The door oper'a'tingmechanism' illustrated in Figures '1' and "2 may"be "applied to 1 single and double d'o'o'rso'n' vertical'hinges, andtooverhead "doors 6f *varlo'ustyp'es such as are commonly used in"garages and "the like. It is, therefore, 'tobe understoodtha't theinvention is not limited to the particular type of overhead door'movement which is shown and described 'merely' for the urpose ofillustrating the "action of the "operating mechanism. I

*InFigur'e '3 the door "I 0 is mounted to close "adoorway II in agarage'or'other bu'ilding i2; 'Thepresent door operatingmechanisrn indicatedgenerally by thenum'eral -l3,'-is mounted horil ntally above the level"of 'the -top'of -the door-- 'way touextendrinwardly at 'right angles tothe center top of the doorirame. The door operat ing mechanism I5 isconstructed as a self-conltainediunitiw'nichgmay ,be secured at oneendto the bui.d1ng or;door frame with the :other :end

supported :by.a bracket M, .or the like, from the eeinng or othernonvenient support.

The :door shown .in Figure 3 is Supported @at its four owners frommovement from aavertical closed {position to .a Jhorizontal overheadopen position. Twoiof these points ofsupport comprise pivotalconnections I15 withrigid leverarms Elia at thelowericorners of the:door. Each .arm 1:6 is fulcrume'd in a bearing i it aon a side frame of:the doorway and has an inwardly extending short arm 1 i8 :oconnectedwith a counterbalanci-ng spring 1-9 anchoredatilflonthe door frame :some

distance .beneath the "pivotal isupport ll. The two upper corners tor:the door vare carried by slightly overcenter positions. In opening, the

top of *the door moves :rearwardly ;on "the \tracks 2-! an'clthe bottomor theudoorrswings outwardly and upwardly ion Ethe ends of vthe .arms'16 :until these arms extendiupwardly =insa=substantially vertical;position "with the bottom =rof the (door supported at theltop of Lthedoorwaysopening. The-various parts of ithei'operating;mechanism l 3 aremounted on :a :pair -:of longitudinal m'embers 25, such-as channels.orangle-iirons, having a requisite shape and stillness .to :form i a"guide track for a :s'li'ding carrlage 12B. The scarria'geflG is movedlongitudinally: on the trackim'embersiii 5 b'y' a- 'ch'ain Z l "trainedover: a 'pair of end spro ckets '23 and I 29. The sprocket 2&- isrmount'ed on Jan idler shaft 'fiil at the outer or .door endro'f :zthetraeks' 25, :and the sprocket 253 is mounted :on driving-shaftsl at theinner end of the tracks. The shaft is is dri-ven by-apulley'32connectedby -a-belt'32a with 'a reversible single :phase induction motor -33which :may be mounted Innder the tracks 25 'as shown. The opposite ends-fof. the chain Zlare =connected =to the carriage so that when "themotor fi rotates in one direction the= carriage is pulled to the outerend: of the traek-=and when the motor rotates in the opposite-directionthe-"carriageis pulled to the inner end o'f the track. A link 34pivotally con nects the -carriage 26"With47hei0pidf the-idoo'r to causethis part of the door to travel with the carriage, the door beingsupported and guided by the tracks 2| and the carriage being supportedand guided by the tracks 25.

A somewhat resilient connection is provided by the belt 32a between themotor and the driving sprocket 29 to avoid jamming of the parts andpossible damage to the mechanism if the movement of the door is suddenlystopped, as by encountering a solid object in its path of descent. Agear drive has a tendency to jam under such circumstance, locking themechanism and preventing reversal of the motor.

The carriage 26 is provided with an upstanding lug or post 35 to engagean arm 36 on a bell crank lever 38 in approaching open door 4 open theswitch 51 when operating speed is attained. At all times when the motoris not op erating at substantially its normal speed, a spring 62maintains the switch 51 in closed position in a manner well understoodin the art to close the circuit 55 for starting inv a directiondetermined by the position of the reversing switch position, and toengage an arm 31 on this lever in leaving open door position, to shiftthe lever to different positions in accordance with the direction ofmovement of the carriage and the door H]. A push rod 39 connects thelever 38 with a reversing switch 4|].

The chain 21 carries a lug 4| on its upper reach and a lug 42 on itslower reach, each of these lugs being engageable with a sliding bar 43to actuate a lever 44 mounted on a switch box 45. These parts arearranged to operate a limit switch in the switch box 45 to deenergizethe motor 33, the upper lug 4| engaging the bar 43 as the door arrivesin substantially fully closed position and the lower lug 42 engaging thebar as the door arrives in substantially fully open position. As bestshown in Figures and 6, the bar 43 is mounted for longitudinal slidingmovement in a guide 46 wherein it is biased by a spring 41 to move tothe right to occupy normally the position shown in Figure 5. One end ofthe bar 43 is provided with an angular L-shaped extension 48 disposedacross both upper and lower reaches of the chain 21 in a position to beengaged and moved by either one of the chain lugs 4| and 42 as one orthe other of these lugs approaches the sprocket 29. The other end ofthebar 43 carries a pivotally mounted detent biased by a spring 5|] to aposition at right angles to the bar to engage and move the end of thelever 44 when the bar is moved to the left byone of the lugs 4| or 42.When the bar 43 is again returned to its Figure 5 position by the spring41, the detent 49 isadapted to pivot to ride over the end of the lever44.

The electric circuits for the operating mechanism are energized from asource of supply 5|. The power circuits for the motor 33 are energizedthrough a pair of lines 52 under the control of a limit switch 53 in theswitch box 45. Closing of this switch completes a circuit to a runningcircuit 54 and to the reversing switch 48 in a starting circuit 55. Whenthe reversing switch 40 is in its lower position as shown in Figure 5,the starting circuit 55 is conditioned for motor rotation in a directionto open the door, producing chain movement in the direction indicated bythe arrow 56. When the starting switch is in its upper position as shownin Figure 6, the starting circuit is conditioned for motor rotation inthe opposite direction to produce a closing movement at the door whereinthe chain moves in a direction counter to the arrow 56. The presentcircuits are designed for an induction motor having a switch 51incorporated therein to open the starting circuit as soon as the motorattains its normal operating speed. The numeral 58 designates acentrifugal device on the motor shaft 60 operating through a bell cranklever 6| to The limit switch 53 is connected with the lever arm 44 insuch a way that it is normally biased to closed position by a spring 65which pulls the arm against a stop 66 as shown in Figure 5. When one ofthe lugs 4| or 42 engages the sliding bar 43, the pawl 49 moves to theleft to rotate the lever arm 44 in a counterclockwise direction aboutits fixed pivot 61 to open the switch 53. After the switch has thus beenopened it is maintained inopen position by a stop 68 which is *pivotallymounted at 69 and biased by a spring 10 to the position shown in Figure6. Disposed adjacent the stop 68 is a solenoid 1| having a plunger 12constituting a magnetic armature movable within the solenoid coil. Thesolenoid is energized by a circuit 13 under the control of a push buttonswitch 14. When the switch 14 is momentarily closed, the plunger 12makes a single stroke, striking the stop 68 and releasing the lever arm44 to allow the spring 65 to close the switch 53.

When the door is fully opened the various parts are in the restpositions shown in Figure 6, with the lug 42 holding the bar 43 extendedto the left after having opened the limit switch 53 in the previousopening movement. Stop 68 holds the limit switch open to permitovertravel of bar 43, and spring 62 holds the starting switch 51 closed,reversing switch 40 being in its upper position. When it is desired toclose the door the switch 14 is momentarily closed, causing the plunger12 to make a stroke against the stop 68 to release the lever arm 44,allowing the limit switch 53 to close. This action energizes the runningcircuit 54 and energizes the starting circuit 55 to start the motor inthe proper direction to produce chain movement counterto the directionindicated by arrow 56. As soon as the motor attains operating speed thecentrifugal device 58 opens the starting switch 51 and continues to holdit open. Upon-leaving open door position bar 43 follows lug 42 to theright causing pawl 49 to override the end of arm 44,- placing theseparts in their Figure 5 position. The post 35 then engages theupstanding arm-31 on the bell crank lever 38 and; moves the reversingswitch 40 to its lower position to condition the starting circuit forreverse rotation of the motor whenever it is again called upon to startl f there is no obstruction in the way of the door it proceeds to fullyclosed position, the motor being then stopped by engagement of the lug4| with the sliding bar 43 to open the limit switch 53 at the propertimeso that the door will be fully closed when the parts have come torest.

If, however, the door encounters an obstruc} tion in itsclosing'movement, the speed of the motor 33 will be materially retarded,causing the centrifugal device 58 to yield to theaction of spring 62 toreclose the starting switch 51. The polarity of the starting circuithaving been just reversed by the reversing switch 40, the motoristherebyimmediately stopped and. restarted in the opposite direction to reopenthe door. When the motor attains itsnormal operating speed thestartingswitchv 51 is again opened and the motor operates on itsrunningcircuit 54, which is efiective for either direction of rotation, untilthe lug 42 engages the sliding bar 43 to open the limit switch 53 withthe door fully open.

The door is opened from a fully closed position by momentarily closingthe switch M. This causes the plunger 12 to release the stop 68 from thelever arm 54 in the same manner as in closing the door, since when thedoor is fully closed the switches 53 and 51 are in the respectivepositions shown in Figure 6, but the sliding bar 43 is held to the leftby the lug 4| instead of the lug 42. By virtue of the fact that thecarriage and post 35 move to the right in closing the door, thereversing switch 49 will be in its lower position when the door is fullyclosed. With the closing of limit switch 53 when the parts are in thesepositions the running winding 54 is energized and the starting winding55 is energized to produce motor rotation for chain move ment in thedirection of the arrow 56 to open the door. As the carriage approachesopen door position, the post engages the arm 36 on the bell crank lever38 and returns the reversing switch to its upper position just beforethe lug 42 engages the sliding bar 43 to open the limit switch 53 tostop the motor.

Thus it is seen that the single limit switch 53 is utilized to stop boththe opening and closing movements of the door and also to initiateeither of these movements by the action of the plunger 12 in response tomomentary closing of the push button switch 14. If the door is open, amomentary closing of this switch will cause the door to close, and ifthe door is closed the same operation of the switch 14 will cause it toopen. The reversing switch 40 always rests in the proper position toreverse the motor when it is restarted, and by virtue of the fact thatthe bell crank lever arm 33 is positioned close to the open doorposition of the post 35, the starting circuit is conditioned for a dooropening movement just after the initiation of each door closingmovement. For this reason any obstruction encountered by the door afterit starts to close will be effective to reopen the door because as soonas the motor 33 slows down enough for spring 62 to overpower thecentrifugal device the motor will be reversed by the pre-conditionedstarting circuit.

This mechanism thereby accomplishes all the necessary functions of afully automatic power operated door, including the safety feature ofself-reversal when there is an obstruction beneath the door, andrequires considerably fewer parts than conventional power operated dooropening and closing mechanisms capable of performing these functions.The mechanism is rugged and self-contained and adapted to be mounted asa unit in a building for operating any conventional type of doors undersimple push button control. Various changes may of course be made in thearrangement of parts and details of construction within the scope of theappended claims.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may beused, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A door operating mechanism comprising an endless chain having tworeaches adapted to move in opposite directions to open and close a door,a reversible motor for driving said chain, a limit switch forcontrolling the energization of said motor, means for closing saidswitch to start said motor, a movable member for opening said switch tostop said motor, a lug on one reach of said chain to engage said memberto stop said motor when said chain arrives at open door position, a lugon the other reach of said chain to engage said member to stop saidmotor when said chain arrives at closed door position, a startingcircuit for said motor, a reversing switch in said circuit, meansoperable by said chain in approaching and leaving open door position toalternately change said reversing switch to condition said startingcircuit for opposite motor rotation, and means comprising a speedresponsive switch in said starting circuit to reverse the rotation ofthe motor if the closing movement of the mechanism is retarded aftersaid reversing switch has been actuated.

2. In a door operating mechanism movable between open and closed doorpositions, a reversible motor for operating said mechanism, starting andrunning circuits for said motor, a limit switch controlling both of saidcircuits, means for closing said limit switch to start the motor, meansoperable by said mechanism at both of said door positions to open saidswitch to stop the motor, a reversing switch in said starting circuit,means operable by said mechanism in approaching and leaving its opendoor position to actuate said reversing switch, and means comprising aspeed responsive switch in said starting circuit to reverse the rotationof the motor in response to retardation of the closing movement of themechanism after said reversing switch has been actuated.

3. A door operating mechanism comprising a chain connected with thedoor, a reversible motor for driving said chain between open and closeddoor limit positions, starting and running circuits for said motor, alimit switch controlling both of said circuits, means for closing saidswitch to start the motor, a movable member for opening said switch tostop the motor, means on said chain to engage said member and open saidswitch in open door position of the chain, means on the chain to engagesaid member and open said switch in closed door position of the chain, areversing switch in said starting circuit, means on said chain toactuate said reversing switch as said chain is approaching and leavingits open door position, and means comprising a speed responsive switchin said starting circuit to reverse the rotation of the motor if theclosing movement of the mechanism is retarded after said reversingswitch has been actuated.

FRANCIS E. RIVERMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,532,171 Burmeister Aug. 7, 19251,745,990 Goldman Feb. 4, 1930 2,253,170 Dunham Aug. 19, 1941 2,262,719Collins Nov. 11, 1941 2,425,312 Gower Aug. 12, 1947

